the Korean Tutor




Korean New Coinage: 웃프다 (Funny and Sad)

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신조어 (New Coinage)

웃프다: Something is funny enough to laugh, but hurts feeling on the one hand 

As we live, we encounter a situation in which we feel multiple emotions at the same time. These complicated situations are hard to be defined with only a single emotion – sadness, fun, or anger. We sometimes feel fun or angry in the midst of sadness and suddenly start to smile.  Of the many combinations of various emotions, the word referring to fun and laughter that turns into sadness is called “웃프다 (funny and sad at the same time).” It is a combination of “웃-” from “웃기다 (funny)” and “-프다” from “슬프다 (sad).” You can say “웃픈 날이다 (Today is a funny and a sad day)”, “웃픈 이야기 (a story that is both funny and sad)” and “웃퍼요 (someone/something that is funny and sad).”

Korean New Coinage: 캠핑족 (Camping tribe)

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신조어 (New Coinage)

캠핑족 (Camping tribe) : A group of people who loves camping

“캠핑족 (camping jok)” indicates a person or group of people who enjoy camping a lot. A camping jok goes to a camping very often, almost every weekend, at a near camping place, equipped with various camping tools, including tents, portable gas stoves, as well as portable pots and pans. Because of the increasing popularity of reality TV shows that show friends and families traveling together, many Koreans are being interested in camping and becoming a camping jok.

Korean New Coinage: 스펙 (Spec)

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신조어 (New Coinage)

스펙 : The proof of various abilities which job seekers have

‘스펙’ is from the English word ‘spec’ which is the contraction of ‘specification’, and it means the characteristic, function or performance of a certain product.  By the way, we began to use the word ‘스펙’ as the meaning of ‘취업을 위해 갖추고 있는 능력 (ability which is needed for finding a job), by comparing the job seekers to the products as if they are the products sold to the company.  We often say ‘스펙이 좋다/나쁘다 (spec is good/bad)’or ‘스펙을 쌓다 (build a spec)’, and we use it for anything needed for finding a job such as in ‘스펙 관리 (spec management)’, ‘외모 스펙 (appearance spec)’ and ‘합격 스펙 (pass spec)’.

Lately, the word ‘스펙’ earned a negative meaning as people use ‘스펙’ for almost everything which would help with finding a job such as school ties, regionalism, blood ties and even appearance which does not have anything to do with ability or skill.

Korean New Coinage: 완소 (Completely precious)

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신조어 (New Coinage)

완소 (Wanso) : be completely precious

“완소” is an abbreviated form of “완전 소중하다 (완전 [completely] + 소중하다 [to be precious]).  A few years ago, some Koreans started calling their favorite celebrities in TV series or movies as “완소”.  However, just recently, “완소” is widely used not only for persons but also for certain items.  “완전 [complete]” refers to “the condition that something is flawless and as great as it possibly can be”.

“완소” is usually followed by a noun such as “완소 아이템(my precious item)”, “완소남(my precious man)”, “완소녀(my precious lady)”,  etc.

Korean New Coinage: 먹방 (Eating show)

먹방 : Eating show

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